Saturday, November 7, 2015

Randy McAllister turns Gristle To Gold

As my friend Bobbie “The
Babe” Barajas used to tell me, “Texas is its own world. Texans understand this,
others don’t.” I think she was on to something, but being from a small town on
a mountain never prepared me for the first dozen or so times that I went
through Texas.

I used to play a comedy club
in Houston, and one in Dallas, and always wanted to make a pilgrimage to
Lubbock to see friends and pay homage to the late great Buddy Holly but never
made it there.

The reality is, Texas may be
several different worlds – flat plains with dust storms, big gleaming cities,
amazing beaches, major universities, and some of the most amazing music you
could ever hope to find. I loved Texas when I was travelling. Had some great
times there and made more than a few friends.

Texas even has its own genre
of Blues, called surprisingly enough, Texas Blues. It’s got more of a swing
than Chicago Blues and has a different approach than West Coast Blues. It’s hard
to put your finger on it, but once you hear it, you never forget it.

Texas has even produced its
share of great blues artists. People like: Doyle Bramhall, Gary Clark, Jr., W.
C. Clark, Albert Collins, Darrell Nulisch (who is being featured on an upcoming
Time For The Blues), Chris Duarte, Billy Gibbons, the legendary Lightnin'
Hopkins and T-Bone Walker, Joe "Guitar" Hughes, the raucous Long John
Hunter, two of the great “Blind” artists - Blind Lemon Jefferson and Blind
Willie Johnson , great legends like Janis Joplin, Freddie King, and Mance
Lipscomb, one of my favorites Angela Strehli, the brothers Vaughan – Jimmy and
Stevie Ray and don’t forget groups like The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Omar
& The Howlers.

If that is not the most
serious run-on sentence in the history of mankind, I don’t know what is…

Anyway, another name that
needs to be added to that list is Randy McAllister, who has recorded a whole
bunch of acclaimed albums that are not in my collection – yet. After hearing
his latest, GRISTLE TO GOLD, I can’t
wait to hear what else he has to say.

McAllister is the son of
Texas-born drummer who has deftly followed in his father’s footsteps while
carving out his own niche. Aside from playing the drums, McAllister is a world
class harp player, having picked up the instrument while he was serving in the
US Air Force. He was stationed in Boston and he learned from playing the blues
clubs in the area.

All the while he was writing
songs and quickly developed his raw style which led to recording contracts and
a 2002 Grammy nomination. His band, The Scrappiest Band in the Motherland,
handles a variety of musical styles while still driving hard from beginning to
end. The band is mainly comprised of McAllister on vocals and harp and Rob
Dewan on guitar. Matt Higgins plays bass on most of the tracks but Mike Morgan
and Rich Stanmyre fill in on a few tracks. All of the 12 songs on the album are
written by McAllister.

The album starts out with a
driving number, The Kid With The Really
Old Soul, which sets everything up nicely. Both McAllister’s harp and Dewan’s
guitar soar and the song strikes a chord – those kids we all meet that seem to
know things beyond their years. It’s got that swinging beat that gets you off
that seat and onto the dance floor (that is, if you’re lucky enough to catch ‘em
live) and makes you move wherever you are.

The driving continues with
the next song, The Push. But
McAllister and company quickly shift tempos and catch you slightly off guard. Andrea
Wallace leads us into Something That Don’t
Cast A Dime, and McAllister’s lyrics take us into a bouncy little number.
Dewan’s guitar trades off leads with the harp and you can almost see the fun
the band is having putting this one together.

Then comes a title that kind
of stops you in your tracks, Crappy Food,
No Sleep, A Van and a Bunch Of Songs. This is the song that just about
every traveling musician can relate. This reminds me of the life I used to lead
when I was slinging jokes in just about every club in America, and loving it
and hating it at the same time. This is a great boogie style number.

McAllister and company then
slow things down with a nice ballad, I’m
Like A Boomerang, a love story of a man that keeps coming back to his baby.
No matter if it’s not right, you just can’t fight the attraction. They follow
up with a driving number, You Lit The
Dynamite, and we’ve all had things that just blow up in our face – and this
one should remind us that we are the ones who lit that dynamite. Very clever
lyrics.

So we’re at the halfway
point of the album and it’s obvious that McAllister has a way of writing great
lyrics and putting together great songs. His core group is very tight and I get
the feeling that seeing them live would be a real treat. His vocals are good
and his harp soars as it punctuates most of the songs. Dewan is a strong
guitarist who adds a nice pyrotechnic touch when called for. I’m enjoying his
background vocalists, loving their voices actually and can’t wait to hear more.

Next up, McAllister slows
things down nicely to bare his soul with Someone’s
Been There. This song is stripped down to its barest essentials. This is
the way to grab the attention, start off softly and it forces us to become a
part of the song. Carson Wagner’s piano is outstanding in this song as it
captures that late night lonely feel perfectly. It’s also assuring that we’re
not really alone – others have been there too and understand the pain. I love
this song.

He picks up the funk with Bowling Pin, a hard driving number that
has more to do with still standing when we should be knocked down. Then they
slow things down again with Glass Half
Full, a curiously optimistic look at how our life can be when the right
person is around to share it with us. Usually with the Blues our glass is half
empty and this is a nice twist to view it another way.

A
Whole Lot Of Nothing is another song that is up tempo and reflects
what our lives can seem like when things just aren’t going our way. Putting the
song right behind Glass Half Full is
an interesting choice and reminds me that our lives go in cycles of happiness
and despair. It’s two sides of the same coin.

The album ends up with Hey Hooker and Ninja Bout Cha. I venture to guess that it may be the first time
the word “Ninja” appears in the title of a blues song. I could be wrong, but I
don’t think so. Hey Hooker is a nice
little boogie number with good piano and percussion leading the song and the
harp adding some nice spice. Ninja Bout
Cha has a cool backbeat and McAllister’s lyrics are fun.

GRISTLE TO GOLD is a great
addition to anyone’s library and believe me, I’m heading to my favorite Record
Store to start looking for them. Meanwhile, if you want to find out more about
Randy McAllister, check out his website at http://www.randymcallister.com and
remember, Don’t Mess With Texas…